Thursday, September 18, 2008

Rio Vista to hear options for bridge's future

Four options are being considered for the eplacement of the Rio Vista bridge. Photo by Daily Republic File

RIO VISTA - Four options are on the table for a Rio Vista Bridge replacement to one day take Highway 12 traffic over the Sacramento River.

The existing bridge is more than four decades old and has two lanes. It is a drawbridge that must be raised even for sailboats with tall masts, bringing highway traffic to a halt.

Transportation leaders will present the four options to the Rio Vista City Council on Wednesday. The study session will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the council chamber at One Main Street.

'It's the community that would be most affected by any relocation of the bridge,' Solano Transportation Authority Planning Director Janet Adams said.

Simply building a higher bridge, such as the Antioch Bridge, at the same site as the existing bridge would be challenging. Such a bridge needs approaches that rise gradually upward. That approach structure would be in the middle of Rio Vista, soaring above the restaurants, gas stations and stores that line Highway 12.

The STA wants to hear what Rio Vista officials think about the following four options:

- Building a wider drawbridge at the existing site.

- Having Highway 12 cross under the Sacramento River in a tunnel, perhaps in a tube sunk along the bottom.

- Relocating the Sacramento River crossing north of Rio Vista and building a higher bridge.

- Relocating the Sacramento River crossing south of Rio Vista and building a higher bridge.

Adams said there are constraints. Among them are protected Delta zones, the old Army depot to the south of the city that's targeted for redevelopment and soil conditions on the other side of the river, she said.